IPL cricketers bowl over Kolkata fans

It was quite a scene when nine international batsmen and bowlers interacted with fans at a city mall recently. Here's the lowdown...
A huge crowd swelled in front of an apparel store from 2 pm on Wednesday, where cricketers of Team Kolkata were about to make a visit around 3.30 pm.
Rumours flew thick and fast - "I heard Gambhir is coming", "I heard Shah Rukh is going to come here directly from the airport" were some we overheard.And when nine players alighted from the car, a deafening roar greeted them.
As they were led inside, fans made a beeline to take autographs and click pictures of their favourite cricketers on their cell phones. "We bunked tuitions to see Gambhir. He is my favourite!" said 22-year-old Aashi Mittal, who was with friend Reshma Rathi. Though Gambhir didn't turn up, the frenzy around Jacques Kallis, Ryan ten Doeschate and Yusuf Pathan showed that Kolkata is one cricket crazy city!
All the cricketers confessed to missing the crowd at Eden Gardens. Jacques Kallis, said, "We missed this crowd at UAE. The energy here is indescribable! A lot of credit for the match we won against Team Chennai goes to the home crowd, who kept on motivating us."
Leg spinner Piyush Chawla said, "The crowd here was cheering us on every fours, sixes and even dot bolls. As a cricketer, I loved it."
Yusuf Pathan, who is in good form, was in a chatty mood. "We are taking each match as it comes. We will be playing on our strengths," he said, adding that he will dedicate the tournament to his son in case Team Kolkata wins.
Ryan, the only one to have obliged one and all with autographs, secured a place in the heart of his fans. Swati Poddar, who came with four kids, said, "We had been waiting since 2 pm. I wanted the kids to get an opportunity to meet the cricketers, and look, they all have got autographs from Ryan. How they love him!"
Aussie cricketer Pat Cummins, who was instrumental in leading the team to victory against CSK, said, "I am enjoying my wickets. We have just picked the momentum, and hope to continue performing the same way."
Well, we hope so too.